Embodiments of the inventive concept relate generally to electronic data storage technologies. More particularly, embodiments of the inventive concept relate to electronic data storage devices and related methods of operation.
Most computing systems include a memory system. The memory system typically comprises different memory components that provide different levels of storage and performance according to different functions of a host device. For instance, most memory systems include a main memory that stores data to be accessed quickly and with relative frequency by the host device, and a long term memory for storing large amounts of data requiring less frequent access by the host device.
In recent years, an increasing number of computing systems have incorporated solid state drives (SSDs) as a major component of their memory systems. An SSD is a type of memory device that stores data in a solid state medium rather than a magnetic platter as in hard disk drives. The term “SSD” can refer to two different types of products, including those that incorporate a volatile memory such as a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and those that incorporate a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory. The first type of SSD is commonly used as a main memory, and the second type of SSD is commonly used as a long term memory.